KOCHI: Pulmonary edema is a condition mostly seen in people who have a history of heart ailments. It is caused by build-up of excess fluid in the lungs, making it difficult to breathe.
“Pulmonary edema is a medical condition due to sudden fluid accumulation in the lung air spaces (alveoli). In most cases, this is caused by heart and kidney diseases. When the heart's functioning reduces, blood is not pumped throughout the body (including kidneys) properly. This leads to backlog fluid accumulation in the lungs causing pulmonary edema. As there is excess fluid in the lungs, they cannot take oxygen, causing severe breathlessness," said Dr Anand Kumar V, senior consultant cardiologist at Lakeshore Hospital.
Coronary artery disease and its consequences like heart attacks and post-attack sequelae causing reduced heart pumping, is the commonest cause of pulmonary edema. The condition can also occur due to other heart disease like cardiomyopathies (impaired heart muscle function) and damage in heart valves (blocks, leakages etc).
There are two types of pulmonary edema. "Cardiogenic and non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema are the two types. Cardiogenic are those caused by heart diseases, while non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema is caused by infections like pneumonia, inhaling toxins and in rare cases after consuming drugs," said Dr Rony Mathew Kadavil, head of the department and senior consultant with the department of cardiology, Lisie Hospital, Kochi.
Treatment
The condition must be treated immediately. “We have to give oxygen and sedate the patient. He or she may require high oxygen therapy, non-invasive ventilation or even invasive ventilation. However, the treatment primarily is about treating the cause of the condition.
If the condition is caused by a heart failure or a cardiac cause, we need to treat it. If it is due to a valve problem, treat the valve problem. If it is pneumonia, they are given antibiotics. The underlying cause must be treated,” said Rony.
The prevalence of pulmonary edema is high in the aged population. “As we get older, the chance of reduced functioning of heart and kidney is high. Thus, the prevalence is high in the aged population. If the disease is caused by infections, youngsters will also be affected,” said Anand.
Preventing heart and kidney diseases by following a healthy lifestyle, diet and exercises can help. “Regular monitoring through BP and diabetes checkups are important. In the case of heart and kidney diseases, the patient must be given immediate and effective treatment. If not, the chances of pulmonary edema are high,” added Anand.